Fat used to be sinful, and now it’s not. Sugar was never great, but now it will kill you. And then there’s salt.

Salt has always been moderately evil—it has been thought to cause high blood pressure and heart problems—to the point that some health professionals say 0 grams of salt a day for many people is best. Especially for old people, they say. If you have ever visited a grandparent in assisted living and joined them for lunch, you probably ate a whole lot of bland, tasteless, saltless food.

The WHO (World Health Organization)’s generic recommendation is to consume than 2 grams of salt a day to ensure you stay free from high blood pressure and strokes.

To put that into context, 100 grams of bacon has around 1,7 grams of sodium, so if you ate bacon for breakfast that’s pretty much your salt for the day according to the WHO. Don’t even think about sprinkling any additional salt on your eggs or avocado!

The Canadian researchers discovered salt’s alleged harmful effects were only relevant in countries, such as China, where they use a ton of salty substances, like soy sauce, very liberally, and where people tend to consume more than 12 g of salt a day. Not only that, they discovered that incredibly low levels of salt in a person’s diet led to more heart attacks and death than moderate levels of sodium.

Their conclusion: Low levels are bad (i.e. 0-5 grams) and high level are bad (above 12.5 g), but somewhere in the middle can actually play a role in improving cardiovascular health, as the body needs sodium—an essential nutrient. The average intake in the UK is believed to be around 8 grams, possible right where it should be, according to this research.

Why your body needs Salt

Sodium is needed for our muscles to contract, for regulating fluid balance, for regulating blood pressure, and for our nervous system to properly transmit signals.

Sodium also helps you absorb chloride, amino acids, glucose and water in your intestines.

Despite these new findings, the study has already been stirring up big criticism from the anti-sodium camp and has even sparked a movement among other scientists to prove them wrong. One of their biggest challenges is that the Lancet study didn’t properly measure how much sodium was in people’s urine, as this needs to be done over a 24-hour period of time, they argue. You can read more about the criticism of this study here: (https://www.heart.org/en/news/2018/07/17/experts-criticize-new-study-about-salt-consumption)

Another aspect of the study to consider is potassium intake. The research found that cardiovascular problems decreased when people were also eating higher levels of potassium—which is found in plenty in many vegetables, fruits, as well as nuts. So perhaps it’s less about sodium intake and more about potassium intake? Something to consider for future research.

Why is potassium important?

Potassium regulates fluid balance, muscle contractions and plays a role in your nervous system. A high-potassium diet is believed to reduce blood pressure and water retention, as well as it helps stave off cardiovascular troubles, osteoporosis, and kidney stones.

(Because it’s coming from my common sense, not a doctor): If you sweat a lot, especially in the summer, you probably can handle more salt than otherwise. So the next time you want to ask for salt but feel like you might offend the cook as the implication might be the food is bland, don’t hold back. You need sodium as much as any other mineral in your body and if you’re craving salty foods, there might be a reason for it.